THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 84, 31 January 1941, Page 6

THINGS TO COME

A Run Through The Programmes

Zichy, the son of a wealthy Hungarian magnate, had the misfortune to lose his right arm in a shooting accident. He had, however, grit as well as talent and taste, and decided to accomplish with ome hand what great pianists achieved with two. This difficult aim he eventually attained ‘after several years’ tuition under Franz Liszt. What that young man did last century another young man has done in our time. Paul Wittgenstein comes of a cultured musical family and is a grand-nephew of Joachim, the great Hungarian violinist. At the outbreak of the Great War he was already a brilliant pupil of Leschetizky, and had made his debut during the winter of 1913-14. In August, 1914, he joined the Austrian army and during the first year of the war lost his right arm. After the war he began to hunt for music written for the left hand alone. Serious compositions of the kind, beyond the Bach-Brahms Chaconne and the Chopin-Godowsky studies, were hard to find, but when he showed the musical world that he could play better with one hand than the majority of even good pianists could with two hands, composers like Richard Strauss, Erich Korngold, Franz Schmidt, and Maurice Ravel wrote special music for him. Maurice Ravel was in fact so moved that he composed for Wittgen- \ the age of 15 Count Geza

stein a "Concerto for the Left Hand for Piano and Orchestra." -This interesting work is scheduled for performance at 1YA on Friday,. February 7. The Inspector Inspector Hornleigh has improved a lot recently. Once he cheated like any-thing-at any rate we, feel sure he would not be able to: arrest people on evidence like that if he really were attached to New Scotland Yard. For the first few of the series he needn’t have been so hawk-eyed; almost any-

one could see where the criminal had slipped. But now, sometimes, you can’t tell. Inspector Hornleigh will be sleuthing again at 2YA on Thursday, February 6, at 8.15 p.m. We don’t know what’s afoot, but there’s sure to be a nice little dish of malfeasance or tort. But we would like to hear the inspector instruct somebody to remove the body.

Versatile We are fully aware that several concert virtuosos like to play jazz as a relaxation, but it has always irritated us slightly that only pianists of considerable stature seem to have the courage to admit it. Minor virtuosos, of course, are supercilious about jazz. It is

a correspondingly greater pleasure, therefore, to see a New Zealand pianist broadcasting a group of compositions which take in, in one broad sweep, Chopin and Carmichael. Chopin, as you may know, wrote a Prelude which has been nicknamed "Raindrop Prelude," and Carmichael, as you may also know, wrote a light composition "Heart and Soul." Both of these will be played by Eric Bell at 2ZB in a pianoforte recital on Sunday, February 2, at 8.30 p.m. " Sweet Singer "" In Shakespeare dramatic poesy climbed its highest peak; and in the works of Herrick lyric poetry reached another peak. "The last of his line," said Swinburne, "Herrick is and will probably be always the first in rank and station of English song writers." Among the characters with whom Herrick’s poetic imagination was peopled, the charming "Julia" ranks high. She inspired some of the finest lyrics Herrick wrote. Nearly 30 years ago Roger Quilter set to music six of Herrick’s "Julia" poems for his friend Gervase Elwes, famous English tenor. Quilter’s song cycle "To Julia" will be heard from 2YA on Tuesday, February 4, sung by W. Roy Hill. Exit " Bandwaggon " Arthur Askey is a pioneer and a revolutionary in radio comedy. He

discovered something new about broadcasting, and he put his ideas triumphantly into practice. What he discovered was that it is possible to put slapstick over the microphone, for slapstick seemed the one certain line that broadcasting should not attempt. It obviously depends on visual impressions, upon seeing people get tangled up in things and fall over things, upon facial expressions and upon the whole elaborate fantastic and entirely visual business of clowning. Well, Arthur Askey does things and things happen to him -helped of course by Stinker, and the whole mad crowd of the BBC’s " Bandwaggon" Show. Their exuberance, their jokes, their songs, their imaginary flat upstairs at the BBC, their imaginary camel and goat, their charwoman, and her daughter Nausea all take an imaginary farewell to "Bandwaggon" at 2YA on Thursday night next at 8.40. This is the last of the series. Gipsy Songs Few of the gipsies we ever saw (at Epsom) gave the appearance of having heard a pulsating, exciting bit of music in their lives, but there must be some gipsies who sing, and Dvorak must have found them-though obviously a long way from the Derby grounds. Certainly the gipsy songs Vera Martin is

going to sing from 3YA on Wednesday have nothing to do with Epsom; one of them is called "Silent Woods" and another "Garbed in Flowing Linen." Dvorak, of course, found inspiration in the folk music of two continents, and his fame rests equally on the negro melodies of the "New World Symphony" and compositions such as his Gipsy Songs.

Wor d-music Continuing the policy of presenting a period with a literary flavour in Friday evening’s programmes, 2YA is following the ‘"Shakespeare’s Songs Hg series, and Byron Brown’s " England Speaks Through Shakespeare " (scheduled for January 31) with a series in which famous short English poems will be spoken by famous people. The poems range from the Elizabethans to present day poets, such as Walter de la Mare, John Masefield and Violet Sack-ville-West, and the speakers include two of the most distinguished figures on the English stage to-day-Edith Evans and John Gielgud. The idea is to group a number of poems, as far as possible according to subject, and to link them with a commentary. The first

theme will be the poets’ treatment of landscape. Listeners will thus have an opportunity of hearing some of the most beautiful English word-music played by master performers, The first session will be at 2YA, on Friday, February 7, under the title of " The Poetry Hour." Success Story Life, grim as it is, would be unbearable if we did not nurse the continual hope that after all we shall be able to "beat the game," and’that may explain the universal appeal of success stories. The life of Eric Maschwitz, English showman and writer of " Balalaika," is one such success story. Thirteen years ago he and his newly married wife were nearly starving, and a job as a waiter was a big step up the ladder. Then he joined the BBC, began writing, and now, still in his thirties, he is "on top." Few men of his age have written songs as popular as "These Foolish Things,’ shows as good as " Balalaika," and films as good as "Mr. Chips." Eric Maschwitz was captured by some enterprising broadcaster for the series of personal interviews with British variety stars at present being broadcast from the commercial stations, and he will tell the story of his early struggles from 3ZB on Tuesday, February 4, at 9.15 p.m.